Pure Imperfections
by Calla Bridgestone
Summary: Wow. 1st story in a long, long while. Okay, summary: Who is Clare? What does she have to do with Duo? How does she know him? Will Heero accept Relena's advances? What's different with Heero...? O.O sweatdrop Lots of things going on...
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing. And although I love the characters to death, they do not belong to me either *cries and runs away*.  
  
The boy's hair whipped across his face as he tightly held onto the thin railing of the boat. His eyes gleamed with a vexing mystery as the shores of land were reflected upon them.  
  
A few feet away from him, a girl stood, one hand clutching the boat's railing with a matching equal ferocity. Though, instead of mystery and threat causing her eyes to shine, it was the sheen of unshed tears for home.  
  
Her lips pressed tightly together as she closed her eyes to the dread that lay before her.  
  
The boy-a stranger to her-looked down, to his left, not focusing on anything but his thoughts.  
  
Neither knew each other. But both had come for the same reason.  
  
***  
  
Trowa Barton stirred his coffee thoughtfully with a teaspoon. It was nearly seven in the morning, and still, the rest of his fellow Pilots were not yet awake, save for Wufei, whose whereabouts where unknown somewhere out back, in the woods.  
  
He leaned back, took a careful sip of his coffee, and felt the warmth somewhat relax him just the slightest from his usual tense self.  
  
Relena's winter cottage wasn't merely a cottage--it was a mansion, to say the least.  
  
Trowa shook his head. What were you going to do with such a large house as this during the winter? The heat bill must have been atrocious. But then, he supposed Relena had always been used to living in riches and comfort. He had nothing against her, but there was that certain way Relena could attach herself to you like a leech and never let go. Follow you around everywhere until you wanted to kill yourself in an attempt to shake her off.  
  
And even then, Trowa thought, an amused smile nearly spreading onto his face as he thought of Relena and Heero, she would probably go with you to your grave...and then beyond.  
  
"Coffee?" a familiarly soft voice behind Trowa reprimanded. "Caffeine isn't any good for you, Trowa."  
  
Trowa turned slightly, and from the corner of his eye, he saw his fair- haired companion appear from the large breakfast room doors.  
  
He said nothing, as Quatre had expected, and Quatre sat himself down sleepily into the chair next to him, cradling his head in his arms on the smooth surface of the table.  
  
"It's so nice that we're all seeing each other again...after such a long, long time." Quatre yawned and shut his eyes as he felt Trowa's gentle hand rub his tightened muscles between his shoulder blades.  
  
"Is Duo up yet?" Trowa asked softly.  
  
"No," answered Quatre. "Still snoring like a baby. I checked in on him."  
  
"What?"  
  
Quatre lifted his head and glanced at Trowa. "Oh, Trowa, must you really insist that--"  
  
There was an unexpected chime that broke Quatre's accusing words off and he frowned slightly.  
  
"Could that be Heero already? This early in the morning? It's not like him to..."  
  
Quatre's words faded out of auditory distance as Trowa headed for the front door. Upon opening it, he couldn't help but show a flicker of emotion on his usually blank face.  
  
A girl that reached to Trowa's shoulders stood there, grasping the strap of her backpack nervously with one hand and combing her fingers through her hair occasionally with the other. She chewed the corner of her silky lip in agitation, and as she noticed him, she took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.  
  
Trowa said nothing, just waited for her to explain what she was doing here. It wasn't that odd that they get visitors, since Relena had meetings and whatnot, though this girl intrigued Trowa to some degree.  
  
Her eyelashes were full and long, much so that the dawn sun cast lovely shadows against her cold-rosened cheeks. Her hair was tied back at the nape of her neck with a single rubber band, locks and tendrils of it slipping loose and framing her heart-shaped face, and though it look as though it had not been washed in days, he could see a magnificent ebony shine through the dirt.  
  
Her clothes were drab and wet with melted snow in some areas, yet he summed up the girl's body to be curved in just the right places, and as smooth and silky as her face.  
  
She looked as though she had come a long way.  
  
When she still had not opened her mouth to demand to be let in from the cold, Trowa's impatience softly rose.  
  
"Yes?" he prodded.  
  
"Is Duo Maxwell staying here?" she asked in a whisper, her voice velvety and melodious.  
  
Trowa, frowning slightly, said "Yes, but he's still asleep," and at the back of his mind, something in him nagged that no one was supposed to know they were here. But he dismissed it quietly and let her step inside.  
  
"Mr. Barton?" came from the foot of the stairs. Relena, dressed and curious, spotted the girl, and gave her a polite, delighted smile. "May I help you?"  
  
Before the girl could say a word, there came a huge, enormous lion's yawn above Relena, at the head of the stairs.  
  
"Ahh," Duo Maxwell, still in his pajamas, said sleepily, stretching his arms this way and that until his audience below, wincing, heard them crack. "What's for breakfast, Relena-san?"  
  
Duo opened his eyes and his eyebrow rose. "Who's that?"  
  
Trowa and Relena focused their attention back onto the girl.  
  
"Oh, yes, I've so rudely refrained from introducing myself," Relena said, jumping into action. "I am Vice Minister Darlian, Relena Peacecraft." Relena paused. "Oh, please, come take a seat in the living room. We'll make you a fire. You must be frozen in those clothes."  
  
But the girl stood stationary, her mouth slightly open, her eyes fixed upon Duo in his pajamas.  
  
Duo blinked. "What? Is my hair really that bad? I mean, I knew it was bad in the morning, but I usually brush it--"  
  
Silence overcame him as he took a closer look at the girl. The eyes were grass green, eyes that sent a haunting feeling of recognition into his memory...eyes he had loved looking into as a child, eyes as enchanting as crystal tears.  
  
"Who...who are you?" he whispered so softly no one could hear at first.  
  
"Surely you must remember me, Duo," she said, biting her lip.  
  
Then, Duo's heart constricted with unknown emotion as he recognized her face, her hair, her eyes, lips.her slightly upturned nose and stubborn chin.  
  
"Clare."  
  
***  
  
Author's Note:  
  
Hnn. Who is this Clare?  
  
Is there possibly something between mysterious "Clare" and Duo?  
  
Could there possibly be anything left between Heero and Relena?  
  
Orrr.maybe Quatre and Trowa will hit it off?  
  
(Hey, I tried (but failed??) to artfully write the relationship between those two so you couldn't tell if there was or wasn't something there, if they're lovers of mere close friends!!)  
  
Should I keep writing?  
  
Please Review and tell me if you'd like some more. 


	2. Pure Imperfections Chapter 2

"Surely you must remember me, Duo," she said, biting her lip. Then, Duo's heart constricted with unknown emotion as he recognized her face, her hair, her eyes, lips.her slightly upturned nose and stubborn chin. "Clare."  
  
***  
  
Heero Yuy turned away from his reflection on the glass shopping window and continued to reluctantly make his way towards Relena's castle. He wasn't exactly looking forward to seeing her just then. Actually, he hardly ever looked forward to seeing her. She always made sure she was wherever he was. If only Relena didn't follow him around so much, then maybe he could at least start to try to feel comfortable with her. But with her following him everywhere, he was nervous about even being around her. He was afraid she'd lunge at him and tackle him to the ground or something. Yet...he also had his own personal, private reasons... He pulled his thoughts away from them and looked ahead. There Relena's palace was, stretched out before him. To him, it was ridiculous to have something so large that was only used in the winter, but if that's what Relena had wanted, no one could disagree. The snow was soft beneath his feet as he approached through the iron front gates, keeping his eye out for Relena. Relena had insisted on a reunion with the others in her palace. Why, after so many years, had she chosen now to have her little happy family reunion? That question was important. He didn't even know why, yet something had urged him to go. That question was even more important than the first. It needed answering, whereas he could have lived if the first had no answer. He had as much wish to see the rest of his ex-pilots as he had to relive Khushrenada's reign. But he hoped Relena's quiet, noiseless palace would at least take him away from the dreams. The dreams had started happening immediately after the Pilots separated their ways. Heero, though not being one to be superstitious, felt prickles up his spine every time he thought of his dreams. A woman, screaming. Being strangely weightless, then something painfully solid hitting his back with grinding effect. Not being able to move. Rough hands reaching out to him, but being ripped away by a woman's gentle ones. And the inability to breathe. There was much more, and for every dream he experienced, something new was suddenly brought into the dreams that he hadn't noticed before. A noise in the woods, to his left. Heero's keen instincts snapped his head to the right to search out whatever could have produced that noise, and found Wufei staring at him without interest and join him at the front door. "It is open." Wufei couldn't have said it with less interest. The two gazed over at each other for a moment, uncertain of how to greet each other after so many years of separation. "Is Relena around?" Heero questioned in a low voice. "Where Relena is and what she does, does not concern me," Wufei answered just as stiffly as Heero had asked. "You haven't changed." "You've gotten worse." They're eyes flashed at each other, and silently, between the two ex- Pilots, a truce was made. That was when the door opened.  
  
***  
  
"I don't suppose Heero is going to arrive until later in the day?" Relena asked around the breakfast table. "Probably," Quatre informed, slipping a tiny piece of bacon into his mouth. "He isn't the morning type, sorry to say, Relena." He paused. "Hmm. This is delicious." "Um, Relena?" A voice to her right resounded. Duo. He and Clare had been off in a corner of their own, whispering things to each other, with Duo looking more and more anxious as their conversation progressed. Frankly, Relena was bewildered. Just exactly how did these two know each other? And how long had they known each other? Curious questions Relena wanted to ask, yet she knew better than to open her mouth. It would have been rude. Now Duo turned to Relena. His face had a certain look of urgency, one she'd never seen on Duo before in her life. Relena noticed he was holding Clare's hand tightly within his own, and she politely avoided staring at their linked fingers. "Relena, could we go to the cabin out back?" he asked. He looked around the room, from where Trowa was moodily chewing on his eggs to where the maids and chef came in and out of the kitchen. Relena looked surprised. "Why, Duo, of course. But what about breakfast? Don't you think Clare--" "I've already eaten, thank you Vice Foreign Minister," Clare said respectfully with a smile. "Alright. But please, call me Relena." "Thanks Relena," Duo said, rising from his chair quickly. "See ya, Trowa, Blondie." Quatre started to cough out the piece of orange he was just in the middle of swallowing. Trowa started to pound him lightly on the back, and the orange was instantly sputtered out in a chunky orange-colored goop. "That's gorgeous," Quatre remarked as he poked through it with his fork, disgusted. She supposed they wanted to be alone. Duo and this "Clare" did, Relena meant. Old flames, or childhood friends? Relena wondered. Or perhaps they were just mere acquaintances? They gathered their coats and opened the door. There was a brief, surprised pause, then, "Heero! Wassup? Man, haven't seen you in ages..." Relena stood from her chair, her pulse racing, her mind confused at what to do first. Heero, here. Heero, here. At last. "Heero!" Quatre beamed, and he and Trowa rushed form their seats to greet their old friend. Don't just stand there, Relena thought, panicked. Do something. She gracefully picked up the hem of her morning attire and as graciously as she could wafted towards the door like some honeybee drawn to the sweetest honey. The ex-Pilots were chittering non-stop in the front hallway, and Wufei and Clare were off to one side; Wufei looking extremely bored and Clare waiting to be noticed. In the middle of it all, a Heero that looked so overwhelmed that Relena wasn't sure if it were really him at all, but just some imitator...he didn't look much different, yet some things were missing about him... She tried to piece it together. Well, of course, don't be silly. His intensity. But...no, he hasn't lost that. His gaze still held a tenseness in them that petrified any being. His emotionless features. And again, she was wrong. He still held no joy written on his face to show for his friends, though it had been a little more than two years since they (excluding Trowa and Quatre) had seen each other. "Heero." Her voice was a whisper, but the chatting ceased immediately. All eyes (even the servants' eyes, for they were popping their heads out of doors now to see what the commotion was about) turned to focus on her and him, him and her, and before she realized what was happening, her feet were moving her towards the crowd that formed around Heero Yuy. The crowd parted, and Quatre smiled knowingly as he saw the two lock eyes, oblivious to all but themselves. Then his smile faded into a very sad expression, something like that of sorrow. Grasp her now, Heero, Quatre called to his friend, his own voice echoing from within the chambers of his head. You missed your chance the first time...this is your last chance. Seize her now, while she's still faithful to you. Hope doesn't last if love isn't returned...or at least shown. "Hello, Heero," Relena said softly, gazing up at his wonderful Prussian blue eyes. Her eyes flickered to something. Was that...a scar? Along his neck, stretching from his right ear to his collarbone, and proceeding even further down his shirt. His flawlessness. He's missing his flawlessness. Startled at that, she hesitated. A tense silence filled the hallway. Quatre, disturbed, grasped Trowa's forearm. He whispered, "What's wrong?" "I don't know," came the reply. You may be too late, Heero, Quatre thought sadly. Blinking, Relena snapped out of her momentary shock and looked back up at his eyes. Then she suddenly flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Heero." Heero, startled and alarmed, spread his arms just the slightest, not knowing where to place them. The room seemed to breathe sighs of relief as the on-lookers watched the two. The reunions were all very satisfying, but Quatre thought watching this one warmed his heart the most.  
  
Author's Note:  
Hey hey! Sappy. Reading over that makes me want to roll my eyes in  
sickliness.well, I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm sickly at the  
moment.*cough*  
  
Note to certain reviewer:  
I'd love to add Zechs in, I just.don't know how. *sweatdrop* 


End file.
